Julian Assange Released and Faces Charges
TapTechNews June 26th news, Julian Assange, the co-founder of the WikiLeaks website, was released from a UK prison earlier this week and reached a plea bargain with the US.
According to the agreement between the two parties, Assange traveled from Australia to the US territory of Saipan in the Pacific Ocean this morning to appear in court and plead guilty.
Assange founded the WikiLeaks website in 2006. In 2010, this website released a large number of classified documents related to the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq by the US government, dealing an unprecedented blow to the US's diplomatic image and causing sensation and controversy.
In 2019, Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Assange participated in a hearing held in a UK court via video, and he said he did not want to be extradited to the US.
According to the latest journalist tracking report by KUAMNews, Assange was charged with a journalism 'crime' in court today. The judge asked Assange what he did to constitute a criminal charge, and he replied, 'As a journalist, I encouraged my sources to provide information that was said to be classified. I believe that the First Amendment of the US protects such activities...'
Assange then added, 'I believe that the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are contradictory, but I admit that given all these circumstances, it is difficult to win such a case.'
The judge said in the judgment: 'Given the factual basis for narrating the entire event, it constitutes the basis for this very serious espionage charge against you... In fact, I will sentence you to serve a period of imprisonment.
Given that Assange has spent 1901 days (a note by TapTechNews: more than five years) in the UK's Belmarsh maximum security prison, the judge announced: 'You will be able to walk out of this courtroom and become a free person'.
According to flight information, Assange will take flight VJT199 at noon today to return to Canberra, Australia from Saipan.
